Leading Austin early-stage venture firm manages more than $60 million
in assets

Focuses on Texas and South-Central U.S. startup ecosystem and its
underserved capital landscape

Network of founders and investors provides support system to spur
growth and later-stage investments for portfolio companies

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATX?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#ATXlt;/agt;–ATX
Seed Ventures, the early-stage venture capital firm specializing in
Texas and the broader South-Central U.S., announced today that it closed
its second fund. The fund will continue leading early-stage investments
in new high-growth technology companies and make follow-on investments
for current portfolio companies. ATX Seed Ventures has more than $60
million in assets under management, and has invested in 26 companies
since its founding in 2014.

“The word is out on technology investment opportunities in our booming
South-Central region, and we are tapping into this power with our team
of institutional investors and technology founders,” said Chris Shonk,
managing partner at ATX Seed Ventures. “We bring a rare and coveted
combination to the Texas startup ecosystem, and it is resonating with
exceptional entrepreneurs and sophisticated investors.”

ATX Seed Ventures is led by Shonk, Partner Brad Bentz, and Partner and
Chief Operating Officer Danielle Allen. Together they bring more than 41
years of experience in investment management to the firm. With their
extensive backgrounds and startup expertise, the team is continuing its
proven strategy of hands-on, value-added investing.

“We are focused on being the premier institutional-grade fund for
early-stage venture capital, bringing alignment, transparency and
increased opportunity to an investment class that had lost its draw for
both entrepreneurs and limited partners,” added Shonk. “Our portfolio
companies are winning big and scaling right here in the South-Central
U.S., not just on the East or West Coast.”

ATX Seed Ventures leverages a diverse Limited Partners base, investors,
institutions and strategic partners, and many LPs are entrepreneurs who
have founded and exited companies, creating a network of experts who
actively mentor and invest in the firms’ portfolio. The firm cultivates
profitable and long-term relationships with founders, and has backed
several multiple times. As a result, the firm sees the best deal flow in
the region, which is notable as businesses are starting, expanding and
relocating to Texas in record numbers.

“Texas is considerably underserved for early-stage capital, and we have
become the go-to for serial-backed entrepreneurs in this realm, as we
hone in on the market opportunity, timing, the compelling nature of the
product and the caliber of the startup team,” said Danielle Allen,
partner and COO at ATX Seed Ventures. “Fund two is positioned in the
right geography, at the right stage and at the right time, and we have
the track record for making successful early-stage investments. We
uniquely bring institutional process and rigor to early-stage investing,
and run a concentrated portfolio to reserve significant capital to feed
the growth of our portfolio companies.”

In 2018 Texas brought in $2.18B in venture capital, and Austin startups
alone raised $1.33 billion in total venture capital, which is a
staggering 25 percent year-over-year increase1. ATX Seed
Ventures has been a major early-stage investor in some of the fastest
growing technology companies in the state, including Alert Media,
Bractlet, SourceDay, GoCo, LIFT Aircraft, Pensa Systems, QuotaPath, and
Slingshot Aerospace.

The firm closed its inaugural fund in 2014, partnering with 16
businesses. This first fund has four exits to date, including three to
public companies (FantasySalesTeam to Microsoft; RideScout to Daimler;
and Unbill to Q2 Holdings). The firm also partners with other venture
capital firms and strategic industry capital sources to bring the best
investments and partners to its portfolio companies.

Additional Thoughts on ATX Seed Ventures’ Second Fund

“Austin is a globally-recognized innovation hub as evidenced by its
population growth, startup density, premier technology companies’
investment in the city and corporate campuses, and the high quality of
life, which are key to attracting and retaining talent. Metros like
Dallas, Houston and San Antonio also score high marks, and their startup
ecosystems are rapidly maturing,” said Bentz. “ATX Seed Ventures is
uniquely positioned to help the most promising early-stage companies
launch and scale. We accelerate the growth of our companies by
introducing them to key talent and customers, and guiding them towards
successful later-stage financing rounds and exits.”

“I have worked with many VCs over my career. ATX Seed Ventures is one of
the very best at jumping in, actually assisting, and being part of the
team. They understand early stage – the ups and downs, the twists and
turns. The ATX Seed Ventures team also goes out of their way to create a
community of entrepreneurs and foster an exchange of ideas and the
comparing of battle scars. These are the guys you want next to you in
the trenches,” said Larry Warnock, CEO of Olono.

“ATX Seed Ventures has been instrumental to Bractlet’s growth. They
bring more than capital to the table. They were key in making
introductions to early customers, providing connections to valuable
advisors, and leveraging their network whenever we needed help. They are
a fund that works with founders to solve problems, not create them. They
have been key in our success to date,” said Alec Manfre, CEO of Bractlet.

“As a serial entrepreneur I have learned that picking the right investor
is an extremely important ingredient to creating a successful company.
The team at ATX Seed Ventures have been helpful in all aspects of both
companies I have worked with them on. They are always ready to jump in,
make introductions, and provide sound guidance when rough waters
emerge,” said Celite Milbrandt, CEO of monoDrive.

“The team at ATX Seed Ventures believes in our vision at Slingshot
Aerospace, and has been a tremendous support in providing the right
resources and network to help transform our company into an unrivalled
success. ATX Seed Ventures’ backing has empowered Slingshot to become a
leader in AI-driven space-tech solutions across multiple domains –
closing the gap between data analysis and critical decision making,”
said David Godwin, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace.

About ATX Seed Ventures

ATX Seed Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in
Texas and the South-Central U.S. The firm’s seed and Series A
investments focus on software-as-a-service, IoT, e-commerce, AI,
frontier commercial technologies, and mobile applications. ATX Seed
Ventures was created by expert entrepreneurs to serve emerging
entrepreneurs. The firm was founded in 2014 and is based in Austin,
Texas. Visit www.atxseedventures.com,
and follow them at @ATXSeedVentures,Facebook
and LinkedIn.